An Update on the Progress Toward Gender Equity in US Academic Pharmacy

Gender Equity Perceptions Among Social and Administrative Sciences Pharmacy Faculty: An AACP-APhA Task Force Report

OBJECTIVE

The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy's Social and Administrative Sciences Section and the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Pharmaceutical Research and Science's Economic, Social and Administrative Sciences Section formed a Gender Equity Task Force to determine if there is evidence to suggest that there is gender disparity in pay; responsibilities; treatment by peers/colleagues, students, and administration; leadership opportunities; and rank, tenure status, and career advancement for Section members; and to develop recommendations to address existing disparities.

METHODS

A Qualtrics survey was emailed in December 2020 to all American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy's Social and Administrative Sciences and American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Pharmaceutical Research and Science's Economic, Social and Administrative Sciences Section members. The questionnaire included items regarding favorability toward men or women in various academic domains (research, teaching, service, recruitment, mentoring, and advancement). Participants were asked if they had experienced gender inequity, and if so, at what type of institution and academic rank. The χ2 tests of independence and post hoc comparisons were used to assess item responses according to gender.

RESULTS

Of the respondents, 72% indicated that they had experienced gender inequity. Women and persons of color were more likely to do so. Women commonly reported that men received more favorable treatment in nearly all academic domains, whereas men reported that women and men were treated equally.

CONCLUSION

Pharmacy faculty specializing in social and administrative sciences reported experiences of gender inequity and perceptions of gender inequity. Perception gaps existed between male and female faculty in numerous academic domains. Colleges and schools of pharmacy should increase awareness of, and strive to self-assess, gender inequity in their institutions.

Is access to leadership roles contributing to the gender pay gap in the pharmaceutical sciences?

Gender disparity in the pharmaceutical sciences contributes to the overall gender pay gap. The gender pay inequity is worse at later career stages. Salary data for pharmaceutical scientists has been reviewed from both the American Association of Pharmaceutical Sciences (AAPS) Salary Survey and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Pharmacy Faculty Demographics and Salaries report. We share some potential causes of the pay inequity, including implicit bias, pipeline issues, family responsibilities, and others. We suggest how organizations can put processes in place to help narrow the gender pay gap. Additionally, we share suggestions for how women must take a proactive role to ensure they reach their full potential and pay equity.

Prioritizing Faculty Well-Being: Why it Matters, What Schools Can Do, and a Call for Action

Previous studies have identified high rates of burnout among health care workers and health professions faculty. Despite interventions being showcased at national meetings in both posters and platform presentations, there is minimal peer-reviewed published research focusing on professional well-being interventions and their assessments specific to pharmacy faculty. This commentary serves as a call to action to design and publish research related to work-system interventions to decrease burnout and promote professional well-being among all academic pharmacy faculty, and particularly subgroups who may be most at risk, such as women and assistant-level faculty. Leaders across colleges of pharmacy may consider implementing strategies suggested in the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Creating a Culture of Well-being guide.

Leading beyond the Script: A Cross-Sectional Study Exploring Preparedness of Pharmacy Academic Administrators

Limited research exists on the preparedness of pharmacy academic administrators for their roles. This cross-sectional survey aimed to explore the self-perceptions of pharmacy academic administrators, including deans, associate deans, assistant deans, department chairs, and directors, within United States-based Colleges or Schools of Pharmacy. Participants answered questions regarding their demographics, self-perceived readiness for administrative roles, self-perceived leadership skills, and strategies used to develop these skills. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and subgroup comparisons were made using Student's t-test for normally distributed continuous variables, Mann-Whitney tests for ordinal variables or non-normally distributed continuous variables, and Chi-squared tests for nominal variables. A total of 193 responses were analyzed. Respondents reported feeling least prepared in two areas: entrepreneurial revenue and handling grievances and appeals. There were gender differences noted in preparedness to conduct performance reviews, manage unit finances, and develop entrepreneurial revenue, with men rating themselves significantly higher than women in all three areas. Despite high self-ratings of leadership skills in the overall cohort, significant gender differences were noted in micromanagement with men rating themselves lower than women. Seeking advice from senior colleagues was the most used development strategy, and women showed a significantly higher preference for programs facilitated by professional organizations. This study contributes valuable insights into the preparedness of pharmacy academic administrators to inform future strategies that better support individuals to be successful in their roles.

Analysis of Gender and Race in Pharmacy Faculty and Administrators

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this report is to identify and characterize the relative likelihood of women and racially minoritized pharmacy faculty being promoted, advancing within leadership roles, and earning comparable salaries.

METHODS

Data from the 2010-2021 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Profile of Pharmacy Faculty surveys were analyzed to compare odds ratios for promotion, leadership roles, and salary gaps of pharmacy faculty according to race and gender. Changes in the odds ratios over time were characterized by linear regression and predictions about when and if equality would be achieved according to current trends were calculated.

RESULTS

Compared to White male counterparts, faculty identifying as women, Black, Hispanic, or Asian had a significantly lower odds ratio of promotion to associate or full professor. Women and Asian faculty also had a lower likelihood of promotion from assistant to associate or Chief Executive Officer (CEO) dean. No demographics studied were more likely than White men to advance in rank or attain associate or CEO dean leadership positions. Furthermore, negative salary gaps for women emerge after promotion from assistant professor, becoming significant and continuing to widen at the associate (-$20,419) and CEO dean (-$37,495) level.

CONCLUSION

Despite attention to matters of diversity, equity, and inclusion, female and racially minoritized faculty continue to experience lower rates of promotion, leadership advancement, and wages compared to White male colleagues. These results have negative consequences for recruiting and retaining talented faculty and students, and compromise the benefits that a diverse faculty is known to provide on student learning outcomes.

Best Practice Strategies for Retaining Faculty During Times of Rapid Change

Faculty retention is an issue of concern to schools and colleges of pharmacy. The reasons why faculty leave are multifactorial but often involve a breach of unwritten contract obligations between the faculty member and the organization. This article provides strategies for retaining faculty based on published literature that include perceived breaches of unwritten contracts and our own perspectives as departmental and university administrators and senior faculty members who have been involved in devising and implementing institutional change. Retention begins with recruitment but then needs to be nurtured during onboarding and as part of the overall enculturation process for new faculty members. Particular attention to the factors that influence the retention of underrepresented minorities must be incorporated to help ensure that pharmacy educators reflect the diversity of the US population.

Distribution of Female and Male First and Last Authorship across Drug Delivery Related Journals with Respect to Year and Journal Impact Factor

First and last authorship are important metrics of productivity and scholarly success for trainees and professors. For 11 drug delivery-related journals in 2021, the percentage of female first (39.5%) and last (25.7%) authorship was reported. A strong negative correlation, with female first (rp = -0.73) and female last authorship (rp = -0.66), was observed with respect to journal impact factor. In contrast, there was a strong positive correlation with male first and last authorship (rp = 0.71). Papers were ∼1.5 times more likely to have a male first author, and ∼3 times more likely to have a male last author, than females. A female was 22% more likely to have first authorship if the last author was female, although there is an ∼1% increase per year in female authorship with male last authorship, which equates to equality in first authorship by 2044. Considering that drug delivery is composed of engineering, chemistry, and pharmaceutical science disciplines, the observed 25.7% female last authorship does not represent the approximately 35.5% to 50% of professors that are female in these disciplines, internationally. Overall, female authorship in drug delivery-related journals should improve to better represent the work of female senior authors.

Gendered Experiences in Pharmacy Education Exposed Through a National Financial Collapse - A Reflection From the Lebanese Crisis

Women have long been drawn to pharmacy; it is often seen as a profession that allows them to balance their professional and personal responsibilities, and Lebanon is not an exception, where the majority of practicing pharmacists are women. Despite gender equality commitments and educational attainments, women are still underrepresented at high positions in the pharmacy academia. In Lebanon, the recent multidimensional economic crisis has added to and compounded existing difficulties. Women have been forced to improvise their jobs and household responsibilities, resulting in an increase in unpaid care and other household work. The aim of this commentary is to provide a critical reflection of the impact of a national financial collapse on the roles and expectations of women in academia, by highlighting the leadership, research, service, and contributions achieved by 2 women academics during these difficult times. These experiences are linked with existing literature to draw some conclusions and suggest recommendations for future research. Our experiences demonstrated that women are engines of recovery, as seen by their tenacity, resourcefulness in adversity, self-reliance, and desire to engage in proactive community activity. The multifaceted crisis in Lebanon has unlocked new demands, where hard-won accomplishments for women should be reassessed, and inquiries into gendered realities for women of academics in the field of pharmacy are necessary. Responding to the Lebanese crisis from the perspective of pharmacy education should include not just repairing disparities, but also restructuring a more robust system with women academics at its core.

Female representation among editorial boards of social, clinical, and educational pharmacy journals

BACKGROUND

Recent studies on editorial team members of healthcare journals have been showing disparities in this distribution. However, there are limited data with respect to pharmacy journals. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of women among editorial board members of social, clinical, and educational pharmacy research journals around the globe.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted between September and October 2022. Data were extracted from Scimago Journal & Country Rank and Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Journal Citation Reports The top 10 journals in each region of the world (continents) were analyzed. Editorial board members were categorized into four groups and determined based on information available on the journal's website. The sex was classified in binary form through name and photography, the personal and institutional web pages, or the Genderize program.

RESULTS

A total of 45 journals were identified in the databases, of which 42 of them were analyzed. We identified 1482 editorial board members with only 527 (35.6%) being female. Analyzing the subgroups, there were 47 total editors-in-chief, 44 total co-editors, 272 associate editors, and 1119 editorial advisors. Of these, 10 (21.27%), 21 (47.72%), 115 (42.27%), and 381 (34.04%) were female, respectively. Only 9 journals (21.42%) presented more females among their editorial board members.

CONCLUSION

A notable sex disparity among social, clinical, and educational pharmacy journals' editorial board members was identified. Efforts should be made to involve more female sex in their editorial teams.